A Soft Breeze
by Somebody knows
Summary: What happened to Chase? Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats.
1. Chapter 1

I'm in the passenger's seat of Eddy's, my dad's lawyer, car. We are currently driving up a dirt road with empty farmland passing by on each side. At the end of the dirt road is an old blue farmhouse. It has a wraparound porch with two rocking chairs on the left side of the front door, and a swing on the right side of said door. I see the screen door open and a man steps out on the porch, waiting for the car to pull up.

The sun is setting painting the sky pink, orange, purple and a dark blue. I stare at the sky, as the car pulls up, nervous to meet a man I haven't seen since the funeral. I wasn't exactly nice to him.

Eddy pulls up to the house and puts the car in park and takes the key out of the ignition. "Lets go." The first words he has said all trip.

I wait to hear his door shut before I take a shaky deep breath and exit the vehicle myself. Eddy comes around and hands me my suitcase. I nod thank you and follow him to the porch. Eddy shakes hands with my uncle and then they turn to me.

Eddy motions for me to come stand next to him. I silently follow his instructions. I put my suitcase down next to me and hold out my hand.

"Hey Uncle Douglas." I say when he grabs my hand in a firm handshake.

Douglas smiles and says, "Come in, I'll show you to your room."

Douglas ushers us into the house and takes me up stairs, leaving Eddy in the kitchen. I get a fair sized room in the back of the house, the guest bathroom across the hall. I put my suitcase on the bed and look out the window, enjoying the small breeze that's coming in.

Douglas clears his throat and says, "I'll be downstairs talking to Eddy if you need anything."

I just nod my head, not even bothering to turn around, still lost in the breeze. I know he's just going to sign some custody papers and then Eddy will be on his way to protect all of dad's assets. Instead of unpacking I gaze out the window.

I don't know how long I just stand and stare out the window, but eventually I come back to reality when my stomach growls and realize that the sun has set and the moon is now lighting up the sky.

I walk down stairs and see Eddy packing his brief case. Douglas is standing across from him nodding his head to something Eddy said.

"And this is your personal copy to keep. If you need anything just call my office." Eddy says and takes out a business card. He writes something down on it before handing it to Douglas.

"This is my personal number, please call if you need anything or have any questions. I'm truly sorry for your -" but Eddy stops when he notices my presence.

Douglas turns to me also and smiles, "There's some left overs in the refrigerator if you want, or I could make you something?" He offers.

"Um no thank you, I'll just have the left overs." I reply.

Douglas nods before giving his attention back to Eddy.

"I better get going if I want to make my flight." Eddy says. Douglas nods and begins to walk to the front door. I follow them, wanting to say bye to the man I know better then my uncle.

Douglas shakes hands with Eddy and then Eddy turns to me. He does something he hasn't done in the fifteen years that I've known him; he pulls me into a hug and pats me on the back.

"Good bye Chase." Eddy says, and then he walks out the front door and gets into his car. I watch the car pull away until I can't see it anymore.

"I'm not hungry anymore uncle Douglas, I think I'll just go to bed." I say.

Douglas just nods. I give him a small smile before retreating to my room. Once there I unpack and put my clothes away neatly. It takes me ten minutes to unpack everything I brought on the plane; the rest of my stuff is expected to be delivered by the end of the week.

I put a t-shirt and basketball shorts before sitting on the bed. It squeaks in protest of my weight.

Then the events of the past week begin to hit me. There was a house fire killing my older brother and sister, and dad. I became the sole proprietor of a multibillion-dollar company, making me one of the richest people in the planet over night. My stepfamily and uncle were about to battle for custody but I chose to live with my uncle. Now instead of living in Mission Creek, California I'm living in the middle of nowhere Texas. I'm living with a man I've only met three times in my life, and one of those times was at a funeral for my family.

My chest begins to constrict causing my breath to quicken, the back of my throat hurts, my eyes prickle with tears causing my vision to blur. I try to hold it in, but when I hear Douglas exit the house my body is wrecked with sobs. I feel like I can't breath as tears course down my face. The room suddenly feels to small, and the window is not letting enough air in. My body screams for air and I burst out of my room and run down the stairs. Once I get to the porch I begin sprinting down the driveway to field across the way. I tear through the grass once I get there, feeling the grass slash against my legs and rocks digging into my bare feet.

"Chase!" I hear Douglas yell, but I'm in too much of a panic to pay any thought to him.

My foot finds a rock and gravity finishes the damage by bringing me to the damp earth. I fall face first into the dirt, feeling the moister soak into my clothes, and dirt cling to my exposed skin. Tears still streaming down my face, and lungs still not getting enough air.

I hear Douglas's footfalls come closer to me, and then he kneels next to me and I feel the warmth of his hand on my back. I cling to the grass and cry as Douglas rubs my back soothingly and telling me its okay, but I hear his muffled cries as well.

**A/N My intention was to write a new chapter for ****_Bionics vs. Zombies?_** **But my fingers had other ideas and this was what came of it. I'm debating on continuing this or leaving it as a one shot. **

**Thank you for reading this, and I hope it's not to depressing. This is in an AU and the characters are OCC. I made Eddy a human so he could become the bridge between Chases old life and his new reality. **

**I hope I covered everything. Please review and let me know what you think. **


	2. Chapter 2

The water is scorching and turning my skin pink as I stand in the shower scrubbing caked dirt off of my skin and out of my hair. Even after all the dirt has been scrubbed off and the water has become cold I stand in the shower shivering. This is the first time since the accident that I've felt something. Before I was numb, apathetic, and stuck. But now I'm feeling everything and I'm drowning in the endless sea of grief. It sucks.

Eventually I exit the shower, not wanting to waste anymore of Douglas's water. I walk across the hall to my bedroom and put my dirty clothes in the hamper. I lie on my bed and look out the window waiting for sleep to come and take me away from my reality. Instead I stay awake fighting against the memories of my family, and eventually my internal battle exhausts me and I drift into a restless sleep full of nightmares.

I wake with a start, drenched in sweat. All I remember from my dream is the heat from the fire. I swing my legs off the bed and stand, I look down at the clock and see that its 3:32a.m. I know sleep is futile so I pull on some socks and running shoes before walking down stairs to the kitchen. I find a pen and sticky notes to write Douglas a note:

_Uncle Douglas,_

_Don't worry I went out for a run; I'll be back soon._

_\- Chase_

I hear the gravel crunch under my feet as I run down the driveway. Soon the gravel quickly vanishes and is replaced by grass covered in dew.

I don't know how long I run for but eventually I stop when my legs start to burn and the sun is almost up. I look around and realize I have no idea where I am.

I turn around and start to jog in the direction I think I came from. Eventually I stumble upon a dirt road that looks familiar. I think this is the road that Eddy turned on when we driving to so I pick a direction and jog.

My legs are on fire and I'm drenched in sweat by the time I see the wraparound porch. My lungs are aching for oxygen but I relish in the pain, it is a momentarily release from grief which is so much worse.

I walk through the back door into Douglas's kitchen and I find him sitting there with the newspaper in front of him, and a cup of coffee next to him. Instead of addressing him I grab a glass and fill it up with tap water from the kitchen sink.

Douglas and I haven't interacted since last night when I ran away in a blind panic. So I don't know how I should react.

"Eddie left this for you last night." Douglas says.

I turn around and see an envelope lying on the kitchen table. _Chase _is written on the front in dads familiar scrawl. A sharp pain tears thru my heart, causing my eyes to water. I close them and fight against the endless grief.

Douglas's voice brings me back from my internal battle, "I didn't want to give you this till you overcame your grief. But last night I realized that you'll never overcome your grief, it will always be there following you. It will be just as strong as it is now, but in years you'll just become use to it." Douglas stands and puts his coffee cup in the sink.

"I have to go into town for some business, I'll be back before dinner." He says and then exits the room.

I sit down and look at the white envelope with dads messy scrawl.

**A/N Thank you for your support! I really appreciate it. :)**

**I want to apologize for the really late update; I just didn't know how to finish this chapter. Plus school gets in the way. **

**Don't worry Chase won't always be depressed and selfish.**

**Also in this story Chase doesn't have bionics, and Donald is his father. And Douglas is completely OCC.**

**Please let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Chase,_

_ I don't know how write this, nor how to express how much you mean to me. But when your mother died twelve years ago it opened my eyes to how fragile life is. One day I'm going to be dead, leaving you alone, and if your reading this then that means today is the day._

_ Chase, when your mother died you were three, to young to really comprehend what was going on. One of the most important people in our lives was taken, all it took was a drunk driver. We were lost, our rock gone. My anchor was stolen from me and I was drowning in grief. I couldn't breathe, and I became a shell of who I was. I neglected you and your siblings, only doing the bare minimum and letting distant relatives, many of whom strangers, pick up the slack. For that I'm sorry, for every inch I put between us, for every hug I wasn't present for, for every book I didn't read, for every good night kiss I wasn't there for, for everything, I'm sorry. I was to blind in my own grief that I lost sight of what was really important, my family. _

_Despite all my failures you turned out great. I can't take an ounce of credit for that, not even your looks. Your mother and I had three children, Adam and Bree took after me with my dark hair, my dark eyes, and pale skin, but you are all your mother with your light hair, light eyes, and tan skin. All of you got her kind heart and beautiful smile, but you got her open eyes, her perception, her empathy. It was something rare, you have always accepted people and saw things from a different perspective. You just knew things, things it would take people years to understand. _

_The only thing I gave you was my last name, my legacy, and my burden. I just want you to know that you don't have to take that, you can sell the company, give it to someone else, do whatever you want. Just know that I'm proud of you, I'm proud of the man you grew up to be. I'm proud of the man I know you'll be. I'm sorry I can't be here for all the milestones in your life, I'm sorry I can't be here for all the failures and success you will experience. It pains me to think there will be a day that I won't be there for you, but I know that you will be just fine._

_Chase do you know where you name comes from? It mean's huntsman, but we gave it to you because we wanted you to chase your dreams. When I held you for the first time, I could see that you were a dreamer, and I didn't want you to just find something that was 'okay' I wanted you to find something 'extraordinary'. So Chase do that, go out and chase your dreams no matter how crazy they are. I know you will succeed._

_There is so much more I want to tell you, but it would take me an eternity and sadly we don't have that._

_Chase always remember I love._

_Love,_

_Dad_

**A/N I hope I did this justice, I hope I made Donald's last words to his son something he would say. **

**I'm sorry for the late update, it's just hard to write this story because it's emotionally draining. **

**Please let me know what you think, please let me know if I'm missing anything.**

**Thank you for your support.**


	4. Chapter 4

I just stare at the letter, feeling empty, it's not what I wanted, I don't want my dad's words I want my dad. The letters slowly start to blur, and soon water drops onto the paper, I quickly wipe my eyes and gently dab the paper dry before folding it up and placing it back in the envelope. I place the letter safely in my dad's burnt journal, one of the last things I have of him. It's black leather, with pages bursting with my dad's brilliant ideas. I rub my fingers over the spine before placing it back in my dresser under my pajamas.

I lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling, just watching the chipping white paint like it has all the answers, like it can tell me how to stop drowning. How cane every breath hurt, it takes all my strength to breath in and breath out.

"Dad I can't do this, not without you, Adam, and Bree." I whisper, hoping he can hear me wherever he is.

I sit up and grab the shoes under my bed and tie them. I grab my phone and lock the door after me, leaving the key Douglas gave me under the mat. I walk down the gravel path to the winding empty road. I walk, for seconds, minutes, or hours, I don't know nor care. I feel numb, nothing hurts anymore, not the pain of grief filling my lungs, not the hunger gnawing away at my stomach, not the cool breeze that makes my ears prickle with loss of blood. I am blissfully numb. Eventually I find a path that veers off the road. I don't really care where it goes; I just need to get away.

I hear water tearing through the landscape somewhere and leave the path and follow the noise. I eventually stumble across a waterfall, it's about 50 feet up but the water is shallow. I sit on the edge, if I reach out my left hand the water could run over it, but I don't, instead I let my feet hang off the edge. I watch my worn black converse swing lazily back and forth, and think of the time Bree gave them to me. The pain comes back, my lungs are full with grief and it's to hard to force air in and out, my stomach hurts from lack of food, the breeze is biting at my exposed skin causing Goosebumps to rise on my arms. I don't care though; all I care about is making it go away. I lean forward and see the rushing water below, my stomach drops at the sight and I know if I lean any more I will fall.

I close my eyes and feel the wind bite at my face, and hear the water tear through the land before falling and landing with a roar. I open my eyes and point my head to the sky, staring past the branches that stretch across the sky like webs, to the dark blue sky filled with wispy clouds.

"I'm sorry Dad." I whisper, hoping the wind will take it to his ears.

I close my eyes and lean forward, expecting wind to hit my face, but instead I feel two hands grip my biceps and pull me away, throwing me into the ground. I roughly land on my left shoulder and skid to a stop near the river. Rocks dig into my arm, side, and legs. My head bounces on impact and I feel blood trickle down the side, but it's okay because I can breathe for a moment. The physical pain brings relief from drowning. I lose myself in the pain.

But soon I am brought back when I hear yelling. I open my eyes and blink a few times before the person in front of me becomes clear.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He yells, grabbing me roughly and pulling me to my feet.

He shoves me and I stumble back. I don't fight him though, there's nothing left to fight for.

He has disheveled brown hair, dark brown eyes that are currently narrowed in anger, and he is breathing heavily to calm himself. He is wearing a worn flannel over a white shirt, with an old pair of blue jeans and a pair of dusty boots.

When I don't answer him he stalks forward and grips my shoulders to shake me.

"Are you stupid?" He yells.

I look away, there's nothing to say. I close my eyes as I feel them burn with tears. I was so close to escaping, to becoming free of the weight that tethers me to an empty life.

The boy sighs and lets me go, he begins to pace between the cliff and me as he runs his hands through his hair. He stops and looks at me, he exhales causing his shoulders to fall, "I'm not sorry." His voice is gravely now that he's not yelling.

I haven't moved since he left me here, and right now my bones feel heavy with fatigue. I just stare at him, hoping he will leave me to curl up in a ball and sleep.

He does just the opposite and gently touches my forearm, he puts no pressure and all I feel is the pad of his fingers and the heat that emits from his body. He's waiting for me to break, but I'm far beyond that point.

"My trucks not far from here, I can give you a ride to your uncles." He offers, taking his hand away.

I stiffen in shock and fear, he senses my response and smirks, "Chase, it's a small town, everyone knows everyone and their business. Plus you've been all over the news."

He then grabs me by the elbow and leads me to his car. His hand never leaves my elbow, keeping me grounded to this Earth. When we stop by an old Ford Pick up he lets me go to open the passengers side. When I don't get in, he says, "Don't worry, I'm not a murderer. If I was you would have heard about it by now, this town is full of gossip."

That was not reassuring at all, but I get in anyway.

"Roll the window down, the AC's broken." He instructs as cranks his own window down. I listen to him, and then lean my head back. My head lolls to the right, and I watch the rolling fields go by. The wind washes over my face, causing the tears I didn't notice earlier to hit my temple. But I'm too tired to care and just let it happen. The warmth from the late sun, the heaviness in my bones, and the old country song that softly reaches my ears lulls me to sleep.

I'm awoken when the car gently stops, and the engines quells. It's pitch black outside; the only light comes from the moon. We are stopped outside my uncles' house, and his porch lights try to pierce the night. The driver's door shuts and a figure strides up the gravel driveway and knocks on my uncles' door. The door opens and I see my uncle step out on the porch, and soon they are walking toward the car speaking in hushed tones.

I know I should get out of the car, but I'm too tired to move.

My uncle reaches the door, and I see the worry and fear in his eyes as he scans me. He opens the door, I would have fallen if the seatbelt didn't catch me.

"Chase?" Douglas asks, pushing me back so I don't fall out when he takes the seatbelt off. I can hear the slight tremble of panic in his voice.

"Help me get him out of here." Douglas instructs, and the boy grabs me as Douglas unbuckles the seatbelt. I fall into the boy's chest, and they maneuver me so my arms rest over their shoulders. They are tall enough that my toes skim the ground as they bring me to the house.

Douglas opens the door with his foot and they place me on the couch, the boy stands up and watches me as Douglas goes to the kitchen. I curl up into a ball, ignoring the pain from the way the boy threw me to the ground earlier.

Douglas comes in with a glass of water and a first aid kit, which he places on his coffee table. Douglas shakes the boy's hand, "Thank you Marcus." Douglas's eyes reveal the appreciation he can't put into words.

The boy, Marcus shakes my uncles hand, he seems uncomfortable with the praise. "I'm sorry for hurting him." Marcus apologizes.

Douglas pats him on the back and leads him to the door, "If you want me to call Vic-" Their hushed tones no longer reached my ears.

I hear the front door squeak closed and Marcus's truck back out of the driveway. Before the noise is lost to the wind Douglas is in front of me, sitting on the coffee table. He uses a wash cloth to wipe the blood off of my face, and then places some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and presses it to my forehead, I hiss and flinch at the stinging sensation.

Once Douglas is satisfied with me forehead he unclenches my fist from my shirt and untangles my arms from my torso, he takes my hoddie off and then my shirt. He examines the cuts and bruises that are forming on my shoulder and side. He wipes the blood off, and uses the rubbing alcohol again. This time I don't even flinch, I just let the pain momentarily take me away, but it's over all to soon and Douglas is taking my shoes and socks off so I'm left in my jeans. Douglas helps me stand and guides me to the stairs, he follows behind me with a hand hovering behind my back as I slowly take each step. My legs threaten to collapse under me, but we make it upstairs. Douglas sit's me on the toilet seat as he takes all the razors and pills out of the bathroom. By the time he's done the only thing's left are the soaps, empty hamper, and fluffy towel. Douglas turns the water on and helps me stand, he takes my jeans off and throws them out the door, I'm too drained to be embarrassed.

Douglas's brown eyes bore into mine, I shake me head and he leaves the bathroom, the door is open a crack. I can see his shadow under the door waiting for me to finish. The shower is long and cold, leaving trails of Goosebumps along my skin. My teeth are chattering and I'm shivering by the time I get out. I wrap the towel around me and just stare at my reflection in the mirror, my cheeks have hallowed out, I have bags under my lifeless eyes. and my hair is hanging limply in my face.

"Chase?" I hear Douglas call.

"Hmm." I say.

Douglas opens the door, another towel in his hand along with some clothes. He sees the state I'm in and hands them to me, he opens his mouth to say something but then closes it with a click. He leaves me, but I can sense him outside the door.

I don't bother to dry myself off, I just put my boxers on before putting on my basketball shorts. I look at the ugly bruises forming on my side and shoulder; I notice small pinpricks with scabs over them. My shoulder took the brunt of the fall, and is worse off, my legs are fine since they hit the ground last. I wonder what I would have looked like if I reached the bottom of the waterfall.

Douglas walks in as I pull my shirt on; he has my toothbrush and toothpaste. He sits on the toilet and watches me clean my teeth. I feel like a robot, going through the motions as if I was programmed to do it.

Once I'm done I shuffle to my room and lay on my bed, with my back to the door and front to the window. I can smell a storm coming on the horizon, and Douglas moves to shut the window, but I panic, not wanting my air to be cut off. I end up falling off the bed making an animalistic strangled noise. Douglas is at my side in a minute and helps me on the bed.

He grips my shoulders, his nails digging into them, "Chase? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

I shake my head 'no' and then croak, "Please don't shut the window." My voice is hoarse, and it sounds foreign to my ears.

Douglas nods his head as he says, "Okay."

He moves the covers down and situates me so I'm in the middle of the bed facing the window. He places the covers over my shoulder and leaves the room.

I hear thunder roar, and see lighting burn through the sky. The turmoil inside me burns and roars to be released.

Soon Douglas is back, he has a book and a chair, he settles down near the door and begins reading.

I can feel his eyes glance at me every now and then, but I just watch the storm rage on.

**A/N This got dark fast. But don't worry; now that Douglas knows the extent of Chase's pain he can help him. I don't know when the next chapter will be ready, and I'm sorry for the late updates.**

**Please let me know if the rating should be increase. **

**Also this is being uploaded unedited because I have work early in the morning, and want to post this. If there are any glaring errors please let me know.**

**Thank you for reading; it means the world to me.**


End file.
